Homegrown Cornish crosses

I have a meat bird, which I'm assuming was a CX, and brown laying hybrid cross. I'm on F3 this season and have to say I'm astounded at the results.
All chicks in all 3 batches were well over 1.2 kg (about 3 pound) at 8 weeks. The second batch did particularly well since I kept feeding them ad libitum for longer. They did very obviously exhibit that typical CX behavior, always hungry, laying on their bellies with head in the feeder and turning into balloons on feet. I ended up turning their feed down also.

The surplus got butchered at 12 weeks. By then they had to run with the rest and they got what I consider a normal day ration. Nonetheless, they seem to be having a growth-spurt up until 8 to 9 weeks and then it slows down. I don't know as to how far this is genetics and how much of it is related to food and running around. But if they drop death from being overweight it won't tell me much either.

I did, however, have a lot more serious leg problems with F3. This time I had day old chicks with a limp that developed in chicks that couldn't walk anymore by week 8, so more typical CX problems I'm guessing. All those have been culled when they started suffering from their leg condition, i.e. when they couldn't walk anymore and just sat around on the little roost they have.

The last batch was fed the least and they are doing really well. Much smaller than the first two batches but much more active and a lot more healthy looking with shiny feathers.

Every generation seems to be bigger and grow faster than the previous, so far, which I obviously select for as long as they're also healthy. The F3 rooster and hen I kept from the first batch are already as big, if not bigger, as the F1 hens still running around.

I'm looking forward to F4 next year, but you never know what you will get. It might turn out as astounding as this year, or leg problems or something else might put an end to this experiment. As long as it's a pass time, as it is for me, I don't see much wrong with either scenario even though I would much prefer the first. Just saying, I wouldn't want my livelihood depending on it, or invest a lot of money in it that could be spend better.

Good luck, whichever way you decide to go.
How much eggs they laid per season?
 

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